Leadership Model and Case Study

Identify Types of Fir Trees in America

Identify Types of Fir Trees in America True firs are in the genus Abies and there are between 45-55 species of these evergreen conifers worldwide. The trees are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in higher elevations and mountains over most of the range. The Douglas or Doug fir is also a fir tree but in the genus Pseudotsuga and is only native to western North American forests. All firs are in the pine family called Pinaceae. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needle-like leaves. Identification of the North American Firs Fir needles are typically short and mostly soft with blunt tips. The cones are cylindrical and upright and the shape of a fir is very narrow with rigid, upright, or horizontal branching as opposed to drooping branches on some spruce trees. Unlike a spruce tree, fir needles are attached to twigs mostly in an arrangement that is in two rows. The needles grow outward and curving up from the twig and form a flattish spray. There is also a distinct lack of needles on the bottom side of its twig, unlike spruces that carry needles in a whirl all around the twig. In true firs, the base of each needle is attached to a twig by something that looks like a suction cup. That attachment is much different than spruce needles that are attached with a peg-like petiole. The cones of fir trees are very different when comparing Abies to Pseudotsuga.  The true fir cones are rarely seen up close as they grow toward the top of the tree. They are an elongated oval, disintegrate on the limb (almost never dropping to the ground intact), perch upright, and often ooze resin. Douglas fir cones stay intact and are generally abundant in and under the tree. This unique cone has a three-pointed bract (snake tongue) between each scale. The Common North American Firs Balsam firPacific silver firCalifornia red firNoble fir Christmas tree farm. CaseyHillPhoto / Getty Images Grand firWhite firFraser firDouglas fir More on the True Firs The balsam fir is North Americas northern-most fir, with an extensive range in Canada, and primarily grows in the northeastern United States. Western firs are the Pacific silver fir, California red fir, Noble fir, grand fir, and white fir. Fraser fir is rare in its natural Appalachian range but extensively planted and grown for Christmas trees. Firs have absolutely no insect or decay resistance when exposed to the outside environment. Therefore, the wood is generally recommended for indoor housing use for sheltered support framing and in furniture for cheaper structural construction. So, the wood of most firs is considered unsuitable for general timber and lumber use and is often used as pulp or for the manufacture of interior plywood support and rough timber. This wood left outside cannot be expected to last more than 12 to 18 months, depending on the type of climate it is exposed to. It is commonly referred to by several different names in the timber trade including North American timber, SPF (spruce, pine, fir), and whitewood. Noble fir, Fraser fir, and Balsam fir are very popular Christmas trees, generally considered to be the best trees for this purpose, with aromatic foliage that does not shed many needles on drying out. Many are also very decorative garden trees.

Interview a Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interview a Manager - Essay Example Q 8 My plans are to increase productivity and efficiency in my department. I intend to make the process of acquiring a loan much easier and efficient in order to make sure that businesses can access loans for expansion as easily as possible. Q 9 It was about my ability to work with other people. Some of the other manages told me that I needed to learn how to collaborate with other managers as a team. It was not easy for me to take this criticism extremely well especially because the manager who talked to me used the word selfish to describe my behavior. Q 10 About my failing to be a team player, at first, I did not agree with the criticism and I failed to understand why I was being told so. However, with time, I realized that everyone cannot be wrong and so I chose to review myself. I have since been able to solve that problem. Q11 One thing that I know that am good at is motivating people to be more productive and to like their work. My experience has taught me that motivation is ex tremely essential if people are to learn to be efficient and productive. I inspire people to produce quality and increase productivity. I have been able to improve the human resource in my department in a exceedingly powerful way. Q12 Some of the challenges that I face include inadequate staff and inadequate resources. Q13 I believe that the internet is going to be the way people do business in the future and I believe that any organisation should be able to from the in the internet to improve their business. Q 14 I believe that managers should be able to use innovation in all areas to improve the way the business operates. Information technology and especially the internet offer a hugely fundamental way to do this. Q15 Managers should be able to have analytical skills to help them in undertaking their work. They should also be able to motivate those below them to be diligent and hardworking. This means that they should lead by example. Part II: What I learnt about the manager The m anager is an extremely diligent person and does not look at management from a traditional point of view. He seems to be the kind of person that wants to excel above the rest of the crowd and also seems to be an extremely hard working person. His approach in management, especially human resource management is quite different and unorthodox. He believes that people should be motivated in order for them to be productive and to deliver quality. What is striking about the manager is his obsession with productivity and efficiency. In his definition of efficiency, he talked about the delivery of products with the least overhead costs. He believes that everything should be streamlined and easy to use. This means that the manager is able to deliver in a way that is most efficient and productive. His deep desire to be efficient and productive is what secludes him from the rest of the managers and this could be the reason he was initially finding it harder to work with the other managers. My i dea of him is that he has an introverted personality and that he sees dealing with other people more tedious than having to do the work on his own. As a result of this, many people are likely to misunderstand his intentions and see him as a selfish person (Jonathan, 2009, p. 27-32). My interview with him showed me that he is far from selfish; he talked about those who are under his management with passion and compassion. His dream for all those working under him

Capital Punishment - Pro and Contra Research Paper

Capital Punishment - Pro and Contra - Research Paper Example Capital punishment is of very old origin. The word capital is derived from the old Latin word ‘caput’, meaning head. Capital punishment, therefore, refers to beheading or decapitation as a method of execution. Today, the term ‘death penalty’ is used interchangeably with the term capital punishment. Capital punishment originated in England, it was then transported to colonies in America during the 17th and 18th centuries. The English legal system considerably relied on capital punishment; this was partly because imprisonment of people for different periods of time was not developed until the late 18th century. For about four centuries, capital punishment has been practiced in America has been a basic part of its history. The first execution in the United States took place in James town in 1608. Latzer and McCord point out that it has accounted for â€Å"at best estimate, about 20,000 executions† (2011, p.1).   However, the method of execution has undergone remarkable changes over time. In the 17th and 18th century America, men, women, and children would attend a public and solemn occasion where death was imposed by hanging. Execution in public was aimed at frightening members of the public in order to avoid crime, administering justice to the accused, and giving the convicted a chance to repent and gain salvation after death. Hymn singing, sermons, and a speech by the condemned accompanied hanging. During the 17th and 18th century, the number of capital crimes was very big. However, there was a great deal of leniency although most trials took less than a day and appeals were not permitted until the 19th century. A benefit of clergy was sometimes granted to the accused resulting in the pardon of certain death sentences. State governors sometimes granted executive clemency to the accused. For example, in New York City, over half of the condemned were granted clemency. According to Latzer and McCord (2011) â€Å"there were even ‘mock hangings’ to empathetically deliver the message, but spare the life of the offender† (p.2).

SQL Server Column Level Encryption Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SQL Server Column Level Encryption - Case Study Example Even though firms try to encrypt data with various methods and keys, it has been noted that these companies are exposed to two major categories of threats (Jayanty, 2011). Chiefly, restricting access to sensitive information is a basic protective approach to the firm’s data. However, considering that cyber-attacks comprise a major threat to business and research firms, it is observed that access restriction is not enough. Consequently, encrypted data and restricted access to sensitive information suffer from the possible virus attack that can destroy the data rather than expose it. With this in mind, ABC Institute of Research and XYZ Inc. are vulnerable to losing data or having their research finding on genetics expose to their rivals. For this reason, column-level encryption using symmetric keys (Aqarwal, 2011). Under the circumstances defined above, when encrypting data, it is important to note that data can be accessed in two ways. Firstly, sensitive data is stored in forms of memory and anyone can have access to these memory devices. Secondly, sensitive data can be acquired from its storage device for access to another device. As a result, data encryption should ensure that once an unauthorized personnel is able to get to the data, access to that data is not discernable using a simple query. Ordinarily, ABC and XYZ would store their research findings in various columns that comprise of genetic patterns, associations, links, and procedures of deciphering various DNA codes that all need to be encrypted. Using the SQL Server Symmetric key encryption, the SQL Server allows the encryption hierarchy that needs to be followed to the latter. Forthwith, the hierarchy allows the creation of a master key for the SQL Server which provides the first step of encrypting the database using a password.  

Channel Tunnel Construction: Project Management

Channel Tunnel Construction: Project Management The Channel Tunnel is considered to be the largest private sector infrastructure project of the twentieth century. It is a fixed link transportation system comprising twin rail tunnels with an additional service tunnel each 50.5 kilometres in length. These run below the English Channel connecting England and France. The terminals can be found in Folkstone in the UK and Coquelles, near Calais in France. In 1986, a treaty of Canterbury was signed establishing the political framework for the project. This addressed issues such as jurisdiction, national boundaries and governmental involvement, consequently defining the role of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) and Safety Authority. In the same year, the Concession Agreement was awarded to Eurotunnel (ET), a bi-national company formed by the Channel Tunnel Group (UK) and France Manche S.A. (France) for 65 years. Eurotunnel subsequently became owner and operator of the project and awarded the construction contract to Transmanche Link (TML) for the tunnels design, construction, testing and commissioning. ET also became linked to the banks via a loan agreement and to national railways via a usage agreement. The scope of the project entailed the development of a system to accommodate the transfer of regular traffic through airport-sized terminals onto an entirely new rail system with minimum transit time and shuttles travelling at high speeds with high capacity in a confined tunnel environment. This therefore defined the technology to be used, since a high integration was required between works and specific transport equipment, an unprecedented rolling stock which included the heaviest traffic on rails, and the largest real-time data system ever employed to manage shuttles travelling at high speeds. Project Roles and Responsibilities Project Sponsor As the project was privately funded, the sponsor had to raise finance on an unprecedented scale through bank loans and equity while making shares available to the public. The loan was secured through a consortium of 203 banks worldwide. An increase in finance during the course of the project was necessary to accommodate for the previously unconsidered needs of the IGC and for safety and environmental concerns as well as the approval of changes made to the project plan by the manager to address the commissions concerns and the degree of fast-tracking between the several phases of the projects. Contractual issues had to be resolved during the course of the project, with a revised agreement to that made with TML in 1987 being drawn up. As installation of equipment progressed, the concern shifted to the training of personnel for the operation of the transport system. Maintaining communication between both sides of the tunnel was also crucial in achieving project success. Project Manager The project managers principal responsibility was to plan and organise the project effectively to meet the sponsors design and construction specifications while adhering to cost and time constraints. During the construction phase, the project manager had to appoint sub-contractors for various stages of the project, with fixed-price contracts issued to reduce costs. Other duties included the modification of the project plan to accommodate for changes in the original design necessitated by pressures from the Intergovernmental Commission and accounting for safety and environmental concerns. The project manager also had to ensure that there was effective communication between the French and the English sides of the tunnel construction. Project Timeline Commissioning Jan 1990 total tunnel bored reached 50km Dec 1986 Geotechnical study of Shakespeare Cliff carried out. Cross channel surveys developed for the 1974-1975 tunnel project were refined using the latest satellite observations Nov. 1987 Funds arranged totalling  £5 billion Oct 1990 Eurotunnel Signs agreement for  £1.8 billion additional bank credit facilities June 1992 The installation of complex signalling, control and communication system begins. Nov 1993 Commissioning Program Begins August 1987 Construction work begins on both UK (Shakespeare Cliff) and French (Sangatte) sides of the channel Figure 1: Fast-track programme for Channel Tunnel [Event dates obtained from Wilson Spark (1994)] Original Project Objectives The fundamental objective of the tunnel was to offer a comfortable, fast, frequent and reliable transportation service that linked the United Kingdom to France via the English Channel. ET suggested that that two rail tunnels and a service tunnel be constructed. The service tunnel was to be fitted with safety and electronic equipment of the highest standard while the rail tunnels were to be designed to accommodate shuttle speeds between 100 to 160 km/h with an average journey time of three hours between London and Paris. The project was initially scheduled for opening on the 15 May, 1993. This meant that the time taken between design consideration and completion of the project was set at seven years. Since Eurotunnel could not start earning revenues until the tunnel became operational, schedule overruns were linked directly to loss of revenue, and were considered a more damaging consequence than direct cost increases. Based on the conceptual design, the budget was estimated at  £5 billion. It can therefore be observed that the quality of the system was of greatest importance in this project. A compromise was necessary between the desired quality and the time taken to achieve this quality, since as the time increased, so did the costs (in the form of lost revenue). Figure 2 indicates the time-cost-quality relationship for the Channel Tunnel project. The red dot represents the relative importance of quality with respect to time. Project Strategy The scale of design was massive and consequently broken into several smaller projects that ran simultaneously to achieve the overall objectives. Realistic time estimates for the project were obtained from detailed schedule planning during the inception phase of the project. This included activity definition, activity sequencing, and activity duration to develop a baseline project schedule. During the course of the project, monitoring and re-evaluation of the time estimates were performed by the implementation of a hierarchical planning/control system. This allowed overall strategic planning, proper reporting to management and detailed logging of day-to-day activities using a computerized reporting system to monitor the progress on all aspects of the project. According to the Channel Tunnel Treaty, Eurotunnel had to obtain funding for the project from private sources, without government aid or loan guarantees. Hence, financing was obtained through equity and loan capital markets. The Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) was put into place to ensure the quality objectives were achieved. This included implementation of a Safety Authority which was responsible for monitoring and specifying design procedures, specifications, construction and issues related to the environment, operation and safety. Since the project was bi-national in nature, the IGC mandated that if there were differences in the standards of the two countries, the higher of the two should prevail. The Quality Management plan included quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. Contracts played an essential role in defining the scope of work, cost, timeline and rules of engagement (or penalties). Contract Strategy During the conceptual design phase, Eurotunnel contracted TML for the construction of the tunnel. The contract agreements were based on estimated costs since at this stage of the project, detailed design was incomplete and hence, fixed prices were not available. Based on the estimated costs, the contract had three facets: Lump sum works for the construction of terminals and installation of mechanical and electrical equipment in both tunnels and terminals. Target works, for all tunnelling and related equipment such as the tunnel boring machines. The arrangement was that if the actual cost was less than the target cost at completion, the contractor will receive 50% of the savings, while if the actual cost exceeded the target cost, the contractor was required to pay 30% of the excess, up to a maximum of 6% of the target cost. Procurement items for the rolling stock and its associated equipment on a cost reimbursement basis with a procurement fee. Project Manager Type and Style ET comprised mainly of banks and contractors. Throughout the project, ET was largely criticised for its approach to design and management. This resulted in failure to deliver the project according to the sponsors time, cost and quality objectives. Additionally, since ETs organisation was bi-national, a sole project manager could not be identified. Organisational Structure Eurotunnels organisational structure can be described as functional, but its two board system made it unique. This is depicted in Figure 3 below. Figure 3: Eurotunnel Management Structure: Joint-Board System (adapted from Stannard (1990)) / In retrospect with the original project objectives, the Tunnel was not opened until 6 May 1994 at a cost of approximately  £12 billion. Additionally, original specifications for the rail system and tunnel quality were revised in order to keep costs down. Many reports have analysed the Channel Tunnel project in an effort to determine what went wrong in such a massive construction venture. From its inception, it was plagued by financial and technical woes, blown schedules and highly public battles between the company managing the project, ET, and its contractors, TML. One of the factors responsible for the cost overruns stem from the short time allocated for bidders to place their proposal for the project in the inception phase. Due to time constraints only a conceptual design was presented and priced. All detail design was to be completed during the construction phase after the bid was won (an example of fast-tracking in the program). Consequently, a number of design problems were not identified from the onset of the project and no provisions were made for them in ETs initial cost estimates. A typical example of this was the need for air-conditioning in the tunnel, and therefore, an additional  £200 million to accommodate this new design aspect. Later on, this lead to disputes between ET and TML about who was responsible for these cost overruns. Another important factor to consider was the poor communication between the British and French teams, in addition to ET and TML. Project communications was an important aspect in project planning, especially for a project of this magnitude. The multi-national team of approximately 15,000 persons included the politicians, governmental workers, bankers, lawyers and analysts who were responsible for obtaining an approved proposal plan and financing, and the construction workers, machinists and engineers who were responsible for the actual implementation of the project. With a task force of this size, an executional communication plan was necessary to address horizontal and vertical communication channels. An analysis of the Risk Management revealed that focus was on engineering risk as compared to process and approval risk, such as IGC safety decisions and approval, while the business risk was addressed via contractual agreements. During the project life, several key members of the ET team resigned and TMLs management also underwent significant change. Strategies were adjusted given the depreciating status of the project. Organisations involved such as the banks, Safety Authority, environmental issues, local authority and public opinion interfered strongly and permanently in this project that was constantly under media scrutiny. The Channel Tunnel was able to withstand all these delays and cost overruns principally because of its highly robust future income stream.

Three Cups of Tea Essays -- Literary Analysis, Greg Mortenson, Oliver

Three Cups of Tea is a book written by Greg Mortenson and Oliver Relin. It centers on Mortenson’s journey to build schools in Pakistan. When Mortenson ended up in Korphe after an attempt on the climb of K2, Mortenson was in the care of Haji Ali. Mortenson promised to build a school in Korphe after learning that Korphe did not have a school. Since then, Haji Ali became a large influence in Mortenson’s life and his mission in the Korphe school. Haji Ali, the chief of Korphe, first met Mortenson when he landed in Korphe after he failed climbing K2. He took care of Mortenson letting him rest and giving him tea. When Haji ali told Mortenson that Korphe had no school and that the Pakistani government didn’t prove a teacher, Mortenson promised to build a school for all the things Haji Ali did for him back in Korphe (Relin and Mortenson 31-33). He showed Mortenson the way of life in Pakistan, and the things need to be done in order to build the school. While Mortenson was away, Haji Ali discussed the school in Korphe. He told Mortenson that they have to build a bridge (Relin and Mortenson 97). Mortenson was angry, not angry with the villagers in Korphe, but angry with himself for not planning better. How else would they carry the supplies needed for the school? With Haji Ali’s advice of building a bridge, Mortenson stayed in Korphe until he understood everything that needs to be done in order to build the school. H aji Ali was the one that proposed every healthy man in the village to lend a hand in carrying the cable and stones to Korphe to starting building the bridge (Relin and 114). Sooner or later with everybody’s help, the bridge has been built with the final plank put in place by Haji Ali (Relin and Mortenson 123). After the b... ...bided the education of girls and the construction of the school. Mortenson learned to respect the ways of the Balti people when Haji Ali told him about the lesson of the three cups of tea. He now knows to trust the local villagers when it comes to finding another location for a new school by going to places where he already had contacts with. Mortenson learned from Haji Ali not to go anywhere in Pakistan without the hospitality of a village chief. Finally, Haji Ali’s last words taught Mortenson to listen to the children, as in to think of them when continuing to build more schools. With all the lessons Haji Ali taught Mortenson, Mortenson is now more effective with dealings with locals in the region resulting in being more effective as the director of CAI. Everyone needs someone like Haji Ali in their life to potentially succeed in whatever the mission life brings.

Appex Corporation Analysis

Fastest growing high-technology company in United States Revenues grew 1600% between 1987 and 1990 As of April 30, 1990 – 172 employees: 153 salaried and 19 (Hourly compensated) Hire rate: 10 new people every month Cellular Telephone Industry High growth industry Roaming – 10% of total subscriber revenues Papers Products & Services CICS – 60% of the revenue IS -? 40% of the revenues – 75 customers, 250 markets in IS. S. , 34 markets in Canada Marketing: Cellular Business, Mobile Phone News (Magazines), Monthly Newsletter Challenges faced by Shirker Gosh when he joined Apex:Everybody did things on their own time, attitude towards customers: â€Å"We'll call you back† No formal business procedures Decisions -? Key Executives People had particular expertise, but everybody did anything people did whatever interested them Nobody had any sense of their JDK Structure – Informal & Fluid Employees – Focused, Committed, Hardworking Worked in clo se interaction, Responsive & Effective Innovative technical solutions Project based, Continued the structure when the projects increased Quick Cash spend and no Expense monitoring Atmosphere changing from Entrepreneurial to ChaoticFire-fighting every day, No underlying planned structure Anything a week away had no priority Operation Sequence: Brian (Ideas) C Michael (Reality) 0 Allen (Sales) Mark (Money) Attrition due to chaotic environment Customer Complaints: NO response, technical assistance requests not addressed Increased demand could not be handled Fall behind schedule, miss installation dates, failures in product development – No Information Flow No Financial planning, No recruitment planning Solution: System of Accountability and Structure, Defined areas of responsibility Innovative Structures:Circular Structure: Concurrent circle expanding out from middle circle. (Innermost) Senior executives C Managers & Employees (Functions) Customers (Environment) Non-hierarchical organization in which information flowed continuously and freely within organization and between the organization and the customers (environment) Failure: a. Employees could not relate and were completely unfamiliar b. New hires didn't know how to fit c. Power structure, Decision making power, Performance evaluation – all grey areas d.Completely geared towards responsiveness and planning oriented asks failed e. â€Å"A mentality developed that the customer was the enemy' Horizontal Structure: Traditional vertical structure transposed in sideways Failure: a. Employees unenthusiastic Need for Control through traditional hierarchical structure. Hierarchy kcal, Functional Structure: Functions organized as 5 teams: Sales/Marketing, Software Development & Services, Engineering & Technology, Operations, and Financier HER & Admit.Issues: How many distinct teams, Who should head, Responsibilities now and after growth Diagram: (which minimized the sense of hierarchy) Horizontal for f unctions reporting to CEO Gosh), displeased the board of directors Titles given informally, but people cared a great deal about the titles, desk locations – Start of Company politics Succeeded in focusing on completion of tasks System of accountability was in place Heads started creating sub-functions Popularization of teams Inhibited working relationships, increasing expenses Personalities arose, Standards set up by individuals rather than company policies The ‘Ego Box' Meeting Source of Authority: Functional, not managerial expertise Difficult to measure managerial expertiseNeed for broader functional expertise: Reshuffling, Hiring, Promoting and Demoting Emerging need of the company – Quality control instead of fire- fighting by the â€Å"great Band-Aid† people Paul Godsons: Product Teams, Functional teams informed about product happenings on a daily basis No system specified who had the authority to make which decisions Conflict between Product manager s and Operations Product teams did not know where their authority ended Senior executives attended meetings, but needed time for their main responsibilities No systems to set priorities about how resources should be allocated among the team Business Teams -? Intermediaries, representatives from Senior management, Authority in decision, resource allocation Shortcomings: a) More tail than tooth b) Escalating Infrastructure Costs c) Customer Focus Diminished d) Less concerned with Company goals, No P&L accountability, ‘Who-cares† Attitude Divisional Structure: 2 Broad Divisions: Inter Carrier Services (CICS) & Cellular Management Information Systems (IS) Operations: Utility functions that serviced both divisions HER.

Battle of Saratoga Essays - United States, Battles Of Saratoga

Battle of Saratoga Essays - United States, Battles Of Saratoga Battle of Saratoga Battleof Saratoga In the summer of 1777, over 7,200 British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne departed Quebec down the Hudson River to ?sever the head of the rebellion? (Department of Military Science, 2006). In the British?s path were 7,000 poorly trained and poorly equipped American soldiers under the command of Major General Horatio Gates. These two Armies would meet and do battle in Saratoga, New York. Many battles during the Revolutionary War were either won or lost by the Armies that fought in them and military tactics played a role in each battle?s outcome. One battle, however, sticks out as the turning point for American forces that turned the tide of war in their favor. This essay will discuss some of the military tactics used to win the Battle of Saratoga which helped to determine the fate of the United States. First it is important to understand that ?the success at Saratoga gave France the confidence in the American cause to enter the war as an American ally? (ushistory.org, 2012). Without this victory the American cause would not have been successful as the French would not have offered much needed financial and military assistance. For this reason, the Battle of Saratoga is known as ?the turning point of the Revolutionary War? (ushistory.org, 2012). Additionally it is important to understand what military tactics are. Military tactics can be defined as: ?the techniques for using weapons and military units in combination for engaging an enemy on the battlefield in an effort to defeat that enemy? (M. Smith, personal communication, September 17, 1997). Some practices have not changed since the dawn of warfare: ambushes, counterattacks, reconnaissance, creating and using obstacles and defenses, and controlling the supply chain are all tactics still used today. The use of the terrain to the best advantage has not changed much; neither has the use of elevation and natural cover which will all be discussed later in this essay. The first military tactic that will be discussed is the reconnaissance. The reconnaissance is a vital tactic used by military leaders that help them to understand the situation and better prepare for contact with the enemy. Reconnaissance can be defined as ?the process of obtaining information about the position, activities, resources, etc, of an enemy or potential enemy? (reconnaissance, 2012). Good reconnaissance led to the American?s detaching 1000 men (commanded by Major General Benedict Arnold) that engaged and defeated the British force (commanded by Brigadier General Barry St. Leger) along the Mohawk River. It is important to note that BG St. Leger?s forces retreated back into Canada and were not present for the battle of Saratoga. By understanding the importance of the reconnaissance tactic the Americans were able ?to thwart St. Leger's eastward advance along the Mohawk River? (Department of Military Science, 2006), and deny LTG Burgoyne much needed supplies and reinforcement s. By knowing what the British were doing, MG Gates was able to ?set the stage? for the Battle of Saratoga in the American?s favor. Another military tactic that had a significant impact on the Battle of Saratoga is the control of the supply chain. If a military unit is stretched too thin or out paces its supply chain, the unit will lose its combat power or the ability to take the fight to the enemy. During the Battle of Saratoga, ?American general Schuyler proceeded to burn supplies and crops in the line of Burgoyne's advance so that the British were forced to rely on their ever-longer and more and more unreliable supply line to Canada? (ushitory.org, 2012). This is one example of how to effectively disrupt the enemy?s supply chain. Other examples would be to ambush or raid enemy supply wagons in order to deny the enemy vital supplies such as food, water, ammunition, and gun powder. The negative effects of denying the British supplies during the battle of Saratoga were evident during the battles. It is also important to note that Burgoyne was unsuccessful at raiding the American?s supply depot at Bennington, Verm ont. British LTG Burgoyne was ?Overextended, cut off from supply routes, and with demoralized forces (Department of Military Science, 2006). So the military tactic of disrupting the enemies supply chain was one

Amedeo Modigliani - a Jewish French Artist essays

Amedeo Modigliani - a Jewish French Artist essays Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor. He is among the most important of the 20th century. His life is one of the greatest tragedies in art. He was born on July 12, 1884 to a Sephardic Jewish family in Livorno (Leghorn), Italy. He was raised in a Jewish ghetto. His father was a businessman and his brother, Vittorio Emanuele Modigliani, was in active Socialist leader. He became ill in January 1920 and died ten days later of tubercular meningitis. He died a pauper on January 24, 1920 at 35. His family was poor but they had prosperous relatives so that the boy lacked nothing. He attended gymnasium, showed signs of tuberculosis at 17 and spent the winter on the Isle of Capri. After suffering from pleurisy and typhus in 1895 and 1898, he was forced to give up a conventional education, and it was then that he began to study painting. After a brief stay in Florence in 1902, he continued his artistic studies in Venice, remaining there until the winter of 1906, when he left for Paris well equipped with money from his uncle. He attended art classes at the Colarossi school in Paris. In 1908, he exhibited five or six paintings at the Salon des Independants. He also met the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, whom influenced Modigliani on African sculpting. Despite his many love affairs, excess of drunkenness, frequent lapses into illness, and poverty, he managed to produce with his relatively short career, a substantial body of work. More than 20 of his sculptures, some 500 paintings, and thousands of watercolors and drawings have survived. He is best known for his portraits of women and elegant nudes with their characteristic elongated necks, almond-shaped eyes, calm facial expressions, restrained color and energetic grace. He used many different techniques. One of which is distortion which is the act of deceiving the eye by twisting something out of its original condition or shape. He used this...

Chernoble disaster Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chernoble disaster - Research Paper Example The reason for the event is that the coolant pumps which are stopped to test the backup system have caused the core to reach the temperatures which can meltdown the core. In this way the backup generators failed and thus caused the accident. Cooling systems of the plant failed and it became impossible for the workers to stop the reactors or slow it down (Green Facts, 2006). There are many environmental effects that are the results of the incident of the Chernobyl. The radio active ash from the incident place spread widely in the surrounding of the Chernobyl. The ash from the incident place has three types, one is in the form of clouds or very thin ash which has a comparatively less weight and other is a bit thick ash that contains a large amount of radioactive materials. The thin ash is carried by air and can travel a large distance but it has a little impact on humans and environment. The thick ash can remain for many hundred years. The ash can cause cancer and if a person is too mu ch close to the radiation material, the ash can damages his cells, causing a typical type of cancer or a mutation World Nuclear Association. March, 2011). The persons have got cancers that are far from the place. A genetic mutation is fount in the plants and animals of the area and many people are also affected by the radiation. Extraordinary organ growth is now a common day thing in the region.

Legalization of marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legalization of marijuana - Essay Example Therefore, this paper will seek ideas to develop an argument for and against legalization of marijuana, through elaboration of the ideas from different sources. Prohibition of marijuana is considered a misguided and ineffective policy, which has not contributed to reduction of marijuana consumption, since the government use funds to implement the policy, instead of collecting tax revenue from sales of legal marijuana. The government spends over ten billion dollars every year on enforcement of drug laws, thus resulting to cost of drug prohibition being wasted on the law enforcement resources. Therefore, government should impose a tax on sales of marijuana, hence eliminate the violence related to the organized drug trafficking (Edelson, 2012). Legalization of marijuana is also associated with a positive impact of lowering the crimes, since the regulation of drugs distribution can result to a reduction of the drug disputes, hence decreasing drug related crimes, besides, the use of marijuana can no longer be considered a crime resulting to a decreased number of criminals. Moreover, the prices of marijuana would decrease, thus cause a subsequent reduction in the crimes such as theft cases. On the other hand, prohibition of marijuana results to thousands arrests annually involving non-violent offences. The legalization would also make the police officers focus on serious crimes such as robberies, sexual assaults, violence, child abuse, burglaries and drunk driving. A relationship has been established between abuses of food intakes and the top ten leading causes of deaths in the world, but marijuana has never been mentioned; thus, there are no death tolls related to use or abuse of cannabis. In fact, the use of marijuana has not shown evidence related to causing health problems like cancer or heart disease; hence, it is considered harmless. Nevertheless, there